Time and expenses

Time entries hold the work date, hours, billable choice, notes, team member, client and engagement. Expenses hold a date, category, amount, billable choice, receipt URL, team member and engagement. Both records have Draft, Submitted, Approved and Rejected states; expenses can also become Reimbursed. The links let an Engagement Manager examine labor and outlay in the context of the client work that produced them.

Time and service entries have different purposes. A time entry documents hours worked; a service entry describes delivered billable work and its rate. Keep their owners and review routines clear so a team does not treat a time approval as an invoice or count the same hours as two separate delivery commitments. The engagement’s logged-hours and expense totals provide a rollup for review, while the individual entries preserve dates and attribution.

• Consultant time. Engineers enter dated hours, mark billable work and choose the client and engagement.
• Expense evidence. Staff attach a receipt URL and choose the expense category before submitting an amount.
• Manager review. Engagement Manager checks submitted records against the engagement and records the applicable status decision.

Set the work-week and submission rhythm that your team will use with weekly capacity hours. Decide whether a consultant may submit time for a client that differs from the engagement’s client and how the reviewer resolves that mismatch. Agree which expenses are billable to a client, which are reimbursable to staff, and what receipt evidence is required for each category. These are operating choices tied to the existing fields.

A submitted time entry or expense appears in its approval list. Engagement Manager checks the engagement, owner and supporting detail, then records the applicable status decision on the item. Keep the decision traceable when an item is rejected or corrected. Finance Manager checks approved expense amounts against the billing and reimbursement records before the cycle closes.

An Engineer logs design hours for an Active engagement and enters a travel expense for the same assignment. The time entry includes the correct client and team member. The expense includes a receipt URL and is marked billable if it belongs on the client account. Engagement Manager opens Timesheets Awaiting Approval and Expenses Awaiting Approval, checks the dates and engagement, then updates each item’s review status. Finance Manager checks the approved expense before billing or staff reimbursement.

Run a second case where a time entry points to the wrong client. Keep it in the review queue until the owner corrects the relationship. The engagement total and team utilization should be checked again after correction, because both draw on linked hours.

• Timesheets Awaiting Approval — Submitted consultant hours with client and engagement context.
• Expenses Awaiting Approval — Submitted outlay with category, amount and owner for review.

Review time and expense handoff and compare capacity.